Pink Floyd anthem retooled as Iranian rallying cry

A new take on the old Pink Floyd anti-authoritarian anthem "Another Brick in the Wall" blends the power of social media with political activism to raise awareness about human rights in Iran.

A pair of Iranian exile brothers have produced a distinctly contemporary remake of the 1979 Pink Floyd anti-authoritarian anthem “Another Brick in the Wall.” With the official blessing of Pink Floyd, the Canadian-based band “Blurred Vision” have released the updated version of the track that is rapidly becoming a social media phenomenon. “Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone” intersperses news footage from the June 2009 “Green Revolution” with the band’s performance in what is depicted as a mosque. The video has been viewed over a hundred thousand times on the popular video site You Tube and word is spreading rapidly across the micro-blogging service Twitter where thousands of users have posted links to the video.

The brothers family, according to the Guardian newspaper, fled Iran following the 1979 Islamic revolution. While they have taken a very public stance in opposition to the government, they are also reluctant to fully identify themselves for fear of reprisals against their relatives back home in Iran.

"Blurred Vision's" Facebook page that the band is using to promote its new song "Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone"

described as “shoestring budget”. Nonetheless, it is receiving widespread critical acclaim and has been nominated for Best Music Video at the upcoming Soho Shorts Film Festival in London.

The song is representative of a powerful new trend that blends social media, popular culture and viral distribution across the internet to inspire political activism. The band says it hopes that the remake of the Pink Floyd classic will become a new rallying cry for Iranian youth. The song is available for sale on iTunes and half of all proceeds will be donated to the human rights group Amnesty International.